During this tight labor market, when employers find it challenging to fully staff their operations, many employers consider hiring minors under the age of 18 to fill their vacant positions. While hiring minors can help meet the critical labor shortage employers are facing and provide an inexpensive source of labor, before deciding to fill vacancies with minors, employers must fully consider the federal and state restrictions that apply to the employment of minors.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) regulates the employment of minors at the federal level. But be aware that state labor laws may be more restrictive than FLSA requirements. If there is a conflict between federal and state child labor laws, the stricter of the two laws will prevail. For example, under Colorado law, a 16-year-old employee is permitted to work in an occupation involving the use of motor vehicles if properly licensed. However, the FLSA permits only “incidental and occasional” driving by 17-year old employees. In this instance, Colorado employers are advised to follow the more restrictive FLSA requirement for both 16 and 17 year old employees.
Generally, child labor laws aim to protect minors by restricting the types of jobs they can perform and the number of hours they may work. Minors are not permitted to work in jobs that these laws deem hazardous.
Federal and state child labor laws typically divide minors into two age groups: 14 to 15 year olds and 16 to 17 year olds. Children under 14 generally are not permitted to work. However, the FLSA and most state laws provide exceptions allowing them to work at jobs such as delivering newspapers, caddying, babysitting, or acting, among others. The FLSA does not consider persons over 18 to be minors, and they may work as many hours and in any industry they choose.
Federal and state laws also restrict the hours that minors are permitted to work. The FLSA only restricts the hours of minors aged 14 or 15; however, state laws may be more restrictive. These laws typically limit the number of hours and times minors can work on school days or days preceding school days. For example, under the FLSA, with certain exceptions, minors ages 14 and15 may not work more than three hours on a school day and 18 hours a week while school is in session, more than eight hours a day, or 40 hours a week when school is not in session, and may only work between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm, except that in summer nighttime hours may be extended to 9:00 pm.
It is important to recognize that states are not uniform with regard to time and hour restrictions for minor employees. Therefore, to ensure compliance, multi-state employers should conduct a state-by-state analysis rather than implement a national child labor time and hour policy.
The FLSA permits employers to compensate employees under the age of 20 at the rate of $4.25 per hour during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment, which is less than the federal minimum wage. However, state laws may require that minors be compensated at no less than the applicable minimum wage.
Other factors to consider are: whether your state law requires meal and rest periods for minors and whether work permits are required. In addition, it is important to understand that minors are legally below the age of consent and, therefore, you may require a parent’s signature to conduct background checks or drug screenings
We recommend that you check your state Department of Labor’s website for information on the specific restrictions on the employment of minors in your state. Additionally, our Member Central has resources for paying employees. If your Employers Council membership includes consulting, contact us with questions.
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